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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Idleness in Art

Just a quick little tangent for today.

As a writer, sometimes the effort it takes to construct sentences and paragraphs that fall into line with the whole of a certain creation can bring with it a sort of fatigued laziness; a mental state through which inaction, at the time, might seem more productive than putting thoughts down on paper you just know won’t do the job. I fight with this often – there are hours that I sit there in front of the laptop, staring at the screen, typing the first few letters of a word only to delete them immediately. This can go on for hours, until I finally slam the cover shut and go about the rest of my day’s business.

I’ve often asked myself…is there any way to avoid these situations?Yes.

The conclusion I’ve found is that there’s no such thing as wasted words. Even a passage that will inevitably wind up in the recycle bin is a worthwhile endeavor. Creation is all about trial and error, of mistakes and changes of thought. Jessica Torrant (from here on known as ArtWiffy) has taught me this. Watching her lather a canvas with paint, stare at it sideways for a moment, and then throw another layer on top of what she’s just finished, all the while with this odd expression on her face that might seem to be a smile if not for the intensity brimming right below the surface, has been an inspiration. No longer can I sit idle and feel sorry for my lack of inspiration. The only muse I need is right here (taps on temple). It’s from within that art springs forth and, just like everything else in life, the mistakes mean just as much as the finished project. After all, there wouldn’t be a finished project if not for those mistakes. It’s all a part of the process.

So thank you, ArtWiffy, for giving me that knowledge. No more meandering. This one's for you.

Who am I?

I'm Robert Duperre, and this is much ill-used blog. The novel I wrote with David Dalglish, "Dawn of Swords", is available right now! If you'd like to sign up for my mailing list, please follow this link: http://eepurl.com/Mo8G5